Keeping Up With the Joneses
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: The Doctor and Rose have been together for a while now, as have Mickey and Martha. When the latter couple embark on a rather domestic adventure, is the Doctor worried that Rose might be getting similar ideas?
1. Chapter 1

**Keeping Up With the Joneses**

"Doctor, we've arrived!" Rose called down the corridor. She opened the TARDIS doors and grinned at the state of Martha and Mickey's flat. "Oh my god, it's like a bomb site!" she laughed, staying right in the doorway of the TARDIS as opposed to attempting to navigate past the multitude of toys littering the floor of her friends' living room.

Martha dashed out from the kitchen, then, cradling her two week old daughter to her as she smiled tiredly at Rose. "You came," she sighed happily.

Rose smiled back but bit her lip worriedly. "And a little late, it seems. Sorry, that's actually my fault this time. Still learning," she replied sheepishly.

"That's alright," Martha assured her. "Wouldn't've wanted you to see me right after, anyway – I looked a right mess!"

"Bet you didn't," Rose disagreed, smiling broadly. "Bet it was wonderful."

"And painful, and horrifying, and she nearly broke my hand, Rose!" announced Mickey, as he came into the living room, too. "But you're right. It was also wonderful." He smiled proudly at his wife and daughter, slinging his arm around Martha's shoulders.

"I'm so pleased for you," Rose said earnestly. "Why don't you come into the TARDIS for a bit? I've got cake and tea and biscuits ready in the galley. Figured we'd best play host seeing as you've got your hands full with baby," she smiled.

"Thanks, that'll be nice," nodded Martha. She tilted her head up to face Mickey. "Grab Chloe's bag, yeah?"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and murmured, "Mmhmm, you go in, I'll just be a sec."

"Chloe? That's a lovely name," Rose said, as she ushered Martha and baby into the console room.

"Thank you," Martha replied. "We thought it suited her."

"Oooh, let's have a cuddle?" asked Rose, peering at the cute little bundle in Martha's arms.

Martha nodded and carefully handed Chloe to Rose. "That's it, hold her head like that, perfect," she murmured protectively.

Rose beamed down at the baby in her arms. "Oh, aren't you just the most adorable thing I've ever seen?" she cooed, rocking her back and forth gently.

"Sorry I was just fixing the - " began the Doctor, as he stepped into the console room; he subsequently stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the sight in front of him.

Rose and Martha whirled around to face him.

"Hi Doctor," greeted Martha.

"This is Chloe," Rose murmured, not taking her eyes off the baby as she walked slowly over to him. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

The Doctor stared at them both without saying anything, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted.

At his silence, Rose glanced up at him. "You alright?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but said nothing. The TARDIS doors opened and in came Mickey, hauling a baby carrier and changing bag along with him. He came over to stand by Martha, who whispered, "The Doctor's gone speechless." Mickey raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Doctor?" Rose prompted, nudging her foot against his.

He cleared his throat, then, and mumbled, "Yes, lovely, wonderful – tea, anyone?" before leading the way to the galley.

Rose frowned in bemusement, shrugged at her friends, and then they followed him.

Inside the galley, Rose sat down at the table and refused to relinquish hold of Chloe just yet. The Doctor now seemed determined not to look at her for some reason, chatting away at Martha and Mickey as he made the tea and sat down with them, barely given Rose a cursory glance as he handed her mug to her.

The Doctor was the model of curiosity, asking their friends all about the past two weeks, apologising for missing the actual day, blaming Rose's poor driving –

"Oi, it's you – the world's worst driver – who I'm learning from, remember," Rose interrupted, forcing him to acknowledge her for the first time in the last five minutes.

He pulled a face at her and then chuckled when she pulled one right back. Then the baby in her arms decided she was hungry and started crying, and Rose started shh-ing and cooing, and the Doctor quickly stared at the table instead of them.

Rose got up and carefully handed Chloe back to Martha, who mumbled something about needing to feed her and exited the room for some privacy. Before she went, though, she said to Rose that she could come with her if she wanted, and an eager and ever-inquisitive Rose took her up on her offer, oddly fascinated by the prospect.

Therefore, the Doctor and Mickey sat alone at the table. They had known each other for so long that Mickey was confused by the suddenly tense atmosphere. He couldn't remember the last time there had been an awkward silence between him and the Doctor; must've been a good decade or so ago. In a weird way, they'd become – well, friends. Not just because of Rose and Martha, but friends in themselves – good mates. Why the Doctor was acting so strangely was a mystery to him.

"You alright, Doctor?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor looked at him and nodded far too quickly. "Yeah, fine, yeah."

"Not you're not. What is it? Is it something about Chloe?"

The Time Lord shifted in his seat, evidently uncomfortable with the line of questioning.

"Doctor, do you know something? Have you like, seen into her future, or - "

Despite his sullen mood, the Doctor started to chuckle. "No, no, no, nothing like that. It's not about – it's not about Chloe. It's just, it's more about – about..." he trailed off, embarrassed. Tugging his ear, he lowered his voice and leant over the table to confide, "It's actually more about Rose."

"What about her?" Mickey asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Well. For a while, now – over the last year or so..." He paused and swallowed hard. "Well, Rose has been quite...I dunno, it seems...well." The Doctor shook his head and restarted. "There have been several situations recently where Rose has acted sort of...motherly. She took care of this little orphaned girl we met in some English village in nineteen-ninety-something-or-other last year - whilst we were stranded there after the TARDIS got sick - until her Aunt arrived to look after her. And there were these children that we met on an adventure on Saarandeling, who'd been separated from their parents in a conflict – she was, oh she was brilliant, looking after them until we could reunite the family. And they weren't even human! She just – she took to it, so quickly, that kind of...nurturing thing. Other things, too - last month, for instance, when we visited Sarah Jane and the two of them chatted about Sarah's kids growing up and all that and – and Rose got this look on her face, sort of wistful, but she shook it off as soon as she realised I was watching her, and..." The Doctor sighed, coming to a stop. He looked at Mickey seriously, who was watching him ramble in contemplation. "What?"

Mickey shrugged. "Could be that she's just being her normal compassionate self, you know. She's never wanted kids. At least, when we were together, she told me she never wanted them."

The Doctor bit his bottom lip thoughtfully. "But things change, Mickey. She's older, now. Maybe..." he trailed off again.

"Doesn't exactly fit with your lifestyle, though, does it?" Mickey pointed out, grabbing a biscuit from the tin. His brow furrowed thoughtfully as he chewed. "Look, Rose might like kids a bit more than she used to when she was younger, but it don't necessarily mean that she wants one of her own."

The Doctor nodded slowly, before murmuring, "Oh."

Mickey raised his eyebrows. "'Oh?' What does that mean? 'Oh?'"

The Time Lord bristled. "It means 'oh.' Nothing. Just, 'oh.' Like, 'okay.' What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I've just realised something."

"What?"

"Rose isn't the broody one; you are."

The Doctor sat up straight in alarm. "No I'm not!" he retorted hotly.

Mickey chuckled. "Yeah, you are."

"I'm not! Like you said. Children – they aren't, you know, suitable. In my line of work." He sniffed pointedly. "This...lifestyle, as you put it, isn't conducive to raising children. I know that. Besides, I'd be...I'd be a terrible father. Again. And – and Rose, she'd – well, I secretly suspect she'd be brilliant, actually, at, you know, being a mum, but neither of us would want to give up the TARDIS and the – the running, not for something so...domestic."

Mickey tried not to grin too widely. "Doctor, you do realise that as you said all of that, you sounded so reluctant that anyone listening in would've thought that you were being forced to say the words due to having a gun pointed at your head or something."

"Mickey," he said disapprovingly at his friend's conclusion. Then he gasped. "Bugger, she'd better not be eavesdropping," he muttered, jumping up and poking his head around the galley doorframe. Luckily, Rose didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. He sat back down with a relieved sigh. "Listen, Mickey, I'm really not interested in any of that, it's just – with all these babies and kids springing up in our lives recently I thought that maybe she was getting ideas. And I worry that, if she is, she's thinking that it'd be impossible for us to have a family together, so she's thinking of leaving to have one with someone else. That's all. That's...that's all."

Mickey looked doubtful. "You were struck speechless, earlier. When you saw Rose holding Chloe."

"Weeelll," the Doctor drawled, trying to shrug it off, "Babies are fascinating, wondrous things. Doesn't mean I want one. Especially seeing as they are also demanding, time-consuming, smelly, noisy and boring."

Mickey shook his head. "You can't convince me. You saw them and you thought how beautiful and natural she looked holding a baby and you thought, you and her could have that."

The Doctor opened his mouth to voice further denials, but Mickey arched an eyebrow knowingly, so he closed his mouth again and swallowed hard, before muttering a quiet, frustrated, "Oh bollocks."

"Hey, no language like that around such young ears," Rose chided playfully as she entered the galley again, followed by Martha and Chloe.

As she passed the Doctor, Rose ruffled his hair affectionately, before sitting down next to him. Realising how tense he looked, she placed her hand on his thigh comfortingly, stroking her thumb against the fabric of his suit trousers, and murmured, "What's wrong?"

He turned his head to regard her carefully. "Rose."

"Yeah?" she smiled.

There was a long pause wherein they just stared at each other, and Mickey and Martha shared an amused glance.

"Doctor?" Rose prompted.

He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently, before clearing his throat to murmur, "It's okay, it – it can wait. I'll tell you later."

"Alright," she nodded, her eyebrows drawing together for a moment. Raising his hand, his fingertip traced the small wrinkle in her forehead that her confused and somewhat anxious expression had produced, then dropped his hand to her cheek, cupping it gently.

"Nothing to worry about, Rose," he whispered.

But that only made her worry even more. Still, out loud, she accepted his words, "Okay."

And their day went on.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Note the 'M' rating. _**

**_Part 2_**

Hours later, having said their goodbyes to Martha, Mickey and baby Chloe, and departing for the vortex, Rose had mumbled something about him meeting her in the bedroom in ten minutes. The Doctor, suspicious, had managed to wait exactly six and a half minutes before giving into his impatience and making for their room.

Outside in the corridor, for a further three minutes and thirty-eight seconds, he paced up and down, planning what he was going to say to her regarding the day's events and what he hoped might possibly perhaps_ could_ be future days' events.

Eventually, he stopped pacing and turned to face their door. He took in a deep breath and entered their bedroom with purpose. "Rose, I think maybe we should - " he announced. Then his eyes flickered over her and his confident voice faltered slightly as he concluded, "Talk."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Oh, this about this morning? I've been wondering about that all day. Go ahead." She gestured for him to speak.

He swallowed hard, somewhat distracted by her new silky, lacy lingerie, and the way she was reclined on their bed like a Roman goddess. Which, he supposed, she was, fondly remembering their time in Ancient Rome all those years ago. She hadn't worn underwear like this, then, though. Mind you, he didn't reckon she wore any underwear beneath that toga – ah, now there's something he never found out the answer to at the time, when he was slowly going mad with desire for her and yet refused to tell her so.

"Rose, just had a thought that I've been wondering about all decade – you know when we went to Ancient Rome, with the statue and everything - "

"Yeah?"

"And you wore a toga."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice at the time – or rather, not notice, actually, I s'pose, if we're being accurate, the fact that there was an absence of – well, of bra strap. And well, an absence of bra altogether, actually. Which led me to the completely natural postulation of wondering whether you had any knickers on either, because when you bent over slightly there was no knicker-line to be seen – not that I was purposely staring at your bottom – well, alright, maybe I was, just a little, but - "

"Doctor," Rose said, before bursting into laughter. "You're seriously talking about this? Now? After all these years?"

"Yes," he said, affronted at her hysterical laughing fit.

"Okay, okay," she murmured, trying to reign in her giggles. "Yes, I was wearing knickers. Well, probably a thong, actually; I can't remember. But no, I wasn't wearing a bra. Satisfied?"

"Not nearly," he complained, sitting down on the bed next to her. He playfully tugged at her corset-y thing, before sneaking his fingertips beneath it to tickle her stomach. "Shouldn't've asked. My memory tells a different story. Filled in the blanks in my knowledge much better."

"You didn't do anything about it at the time, though, so..."

"I kissed you!"

"Yeah, but you didn't do anything else."

"I sculpted a perfect sculpture of you and practically told you that I found you immensely attractive – I mean, inspiring," he grinned, throwing her a cheeky wink.

"Maybe one day we should go back to toga-wearing times, and I'll wear one again, with no underwear whatsoever, and then you can tell me what you really meant when you said that, and then you can do what you wanted to do back then..."

The Doctor was extremely enthralled by her suggestion. "That sounds like a very good idea indeed," he murmured, now placing his hand on her bare leg. He got to his knees on the bed, staring down at her adoringly. "You know, we probably wouldn't even get in trouble for indecent exposure there," he grinned, his hand slowly migrating up to her thigh as he spoke. "Seeing as the Ancient Romans and Greeks were so fond of the act."

Rose simultaneously giggled and shivered, which the Doctor took to be a great success. Then, she pulled him closer by his jacket lapels, so that he was hovering over her as she rolled onto her back. "Kinky," she whispered cheekily.

He laughed and trailed his nose along her jaw on his way to her mouth. "My middle name," he teased, whispering the words across her lips, before seizing them in a heated kiss. Rose wrapped a leg around his waist to tug him closer, and he let his weight rest atop her, giving into the temptation of feeling her against him. He reached down and brought her other leg up around his waist, too, and she crossed her ankles behind the small of his back and rocked him against her. "Ohhh," he mumbled, tearing his mouth free of hers to gasp out a moan against her neck. "Oh, Rose."

She ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed his way down to her collar bone. Tugging ineffectually at her corset, he murmured, "You know something, Rose?"

"What's that?" she gasped, as he managed to pop a button free to loosen it, before yanking it down just the inch necessary for access to her breasts. She giggled at the triumphant look on his face and he met her eyes.

Holding her gaze, he gestured to her lingerie and whispered, "This is all very, very lovely and I like it _a lot, _but you don't even need to do all this." He smiled tenderly at her. "I think the decade we've spent together has proven that I want you when you're dressed like this _and _when you wear _anything _at all – or nothing, of course – at any time," he waggled his eyebrows, "Any place...whatever the circumstances..."

Rose smiled back and stroked her thumb over his cheek tenderly. "I know, I just thought...well, I s'pose I was worried, that's all, when you said that we need to have a talk, earlier." She shrugged a shoulder at his confused expression. "Thought I'd spruce myself up a bit to show you that I could still, you know. Be like I was. Before. The early days when we were first together. Kind of realised, suddenly, that I'd let myself go a bit, got a little...boring. I was sort of worried that you'd realised that."

"Rose," the Doctor murmured, looking completely baffled. "What're you going on about?"

"Well, we've been together so long...I haven't dress up like this for a while, thought it was time to try and be sexy again," she mumbled, followed by a nervous laugh.

His eyes widened. "When I have I _ever _given the impression that I don't think you're sexy?"

Rose smiled. "I dunno, you haven't really, I just. Well, for the last few months or so, since I hit thirty really, I've just felt a little..." she floundered for the right word. "Well, let's say..._un_inspiring."

He shook his head in disbelief. "Rose, if I had any marble or something – along with the actual willpower to get off of you right now – I would sculpt another sculpture of you right this instant. Or draw or - or paint you. Oooh now there's an idea..." He lowered his gaze to her chest. "Now, why haven't I ever immortalised these in art? That's a crime, that is; should've done that long ago. Later, Rose, remind me to fetch my sketchpad. We could re-enact that scene from _Titanic_! You know, where he draws her naked – you could wear that necklace I bought you for your birthday, and -" He looked back at her face and was startled to see that her eyes had filled with tears. Alarmed, he stroked her hair tenderly and whispered, "What is it? What's wrong?"

She sniffed and blinked away her tears. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. You're just...so fantastic, you know? At making me feel better. At making me feel beautiful."

"You _are _beautiful," he insisted, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

"For a minute there today I thought maybe..."

"What?" he queried softly, lowering his mouth to her chest.

"I thought...ohhhh...um, I thought that maybe you had something, uh, not-very-happy to tell me."

"Like what?" He trailed his lips across her breastbone, his hand sneaking up to grasp her left breast whilst his mouth enclosed around her right nipple.

"Oh my – keep – keep doing that," she panted breathlessly, enjoying his multi-tasking. She tried to continue their conversation, "Um, like...like I dunno, that things weren't the same, or something..."

He abruptly ceased all movement except to lift his head to look at her in surprise. "Things aren't the same?" he whispered, panicked.

Rose rushed to reassure him. "No, shh, they are, I just thought that maybe _you _didn't think so."

"Why would I think that?"

"I dunno," she shrugged again. "S'pose...well, we've not, you know, done this, for a while."

"We had sex last Tuesday," he informed her, confused.

"Yeah, but it used to be like, all the time, and – and _different_, every time," she pointed out. "We've been going longer and longer between times, Doctor. For the last few months. Haven't you noticed?"

"I..." he trailed off for a moment. "Well, yes. I had noticed. Hard not to notice, really, considering I can sense time so strongly. For instance, I know that it has been exactly nine days, two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-two and a half seconds since I last made you orgasm."

Rose blushed a lovely shade of pink. "Doctor," she mumbled.

"What?" he chuckled. "Does that make you uncomfortable, Rose Tyler? The fact that I can count down to the millisecond, literally, regarding moments such as those?"

"No, I just..."

"Listen, nine days is nothing. Not compared to most people's sex lives, you know, couples who've been in a relationship as long as us. I bet Martha and Mickey have gone a lot longer than nine days, even before the whole having-a-baby thing. Not that I'm encouraging you to think about the sexual habits of our friends. But still, you know what I mean. Besides, we've been rather more busy than usual this week, what with visiting your mother, then the Revolution - plus that business with Emperor Angroshu and the problems on Terraticgak."

"I s'pose..."

"And in case you didn't notice, we saved a world and/or universe thrice in the last three days alone. Additionally, we spent today with Mickey and Martha - and - and Chloe. Thus, there hasn't been much time for extracurricular activities, so to speak," he explained. He shifted against her to remind her of their current position. "Doesn't mean I've not been thinking, every spare second I have, about the sound you made with that last orgasm and wondering how I can get you to make it again. In fact, I might have to spend the next few days in bed with you proving my undying devotion by making you make that sound over and over again."

"Oh god," Rose murmured, tightening her legs around him reflexively. "You're an impossibly perfect man. Please let's not go without shagging for nine days, two hours and whatever again though because I am seriously desperate here."

He grinned, considerably pleased with her phrasing. "Reassured, then? That I've not been, what? Avoiding you? Avoiding this?" He grasped her hips and rocked against her again, making her whimper.

"Reassured," she confirmed. "Just been busy. I get it."

"If you think that after nearly eleven years of hardly being able to take my hands off you I would suddenly decide that I've had enough, then you are incredibly silly, Rose Tyler."

"Yep that's me, silly Rose," she whispered distractedly, pushing his jacket off his shoulders.

"And hopefully the feeling is mutual, yeah?" he prompted, helping her unbutton his shirt.

She nodded firmly, running her hands over his chest as he shrugged off his shirt. "Oh yes. Definitely mutual. Never getting bored of you," she mumbled, before pulling him down to her again, brushing her breasts against his bare chest.

"We do still need to talk, by the way," he murmured, suddenly remembering. He felt her eyes on him as he looked down to undo his trousers. He glanced back up and saw her wary expression. "It's okay," he said again. "Nothing _bad, _remember? Just...curiosity. About the future – guhhhh."

Rose grinned triumphantly as she freed his erection from his trousers and pants. "The future?" she murmured. "What about it?"

"_Our _future," he clarified, groaning into her neck as she stroked him in the way she'd perfected over the course of their relationship.

"Well, more of the same, isn't it?" she said, a hint of anxiety evident in her tone despite his previous words of comfort. "Me and you, TARDIS, adventuring, seeing the sights, sex, sex, sex..."

"Yes, definitely," he confirmed quickly, tugging her corset-type-garment the rest of the way off of her, suspecting that he'd ripped it slightly in his hurry. "But I also wanted to check."

"Check what?"

"Really not the best time to bring it up, actually," he acknowledged, helping her shimmy out of her knickers without removing himself from lying atop her.

"Doctor, just tell me, the suspense is killing me." She moved his hand to where she wanted it as she spoke, and he gladly complied with her unspoken request, forgoing the spoken one. "Doctor," she prompted, eager for him to just say it. Then, "Oh god, _Doctor," _she repeated, for a different reason entirely.

"I was just, well, wondering, what with you being so..._you, _if you'd – if you'd – _fuck, _Rose, that's good," he gasped.

"Oh god, oh god, now, Doctor. In, in, in," she gasped back, adjusting their position to align them properly.

One quick shift of his hips and he was buried inside her, muffling his groans into her neck. For a while, Rose forgot to quiz him on what he wanted to tell her; they were both a bit distracted by the push pull push pull of their thrusts. One related thought did unwittingly come to the Doctor's mind, however, upon hearing Rose's filthy words groaned rather loudly into the room. And that thought was, _if she does want kids, she's gonna have to learn to keep those things to herself._

Rather than letting that thought linger in his mind or even simply vanish into nothingness, he accidentally spoke it out loud. Luckily, she didn't acknowledge it, so he thought he was safe.

With one last thrust, they climaxed almost simultaneously. He collapsed atop her, and her legs dropped from his waist, and they lay there, panting for breath, slick with sweat and utterly fulfilled, his face tucked into her neck as he breathed her in. After a minute or so recuperation time in which she was so sated that she hardly noticed the weight of him, the Doctor shifted, rolling off of her.

"That was..." he exhaled roughly, somewhat speechless.

Rose turned her head to look at him. "It was indeed." She paused. "Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you mention _kids?"_


	3. Chapter 3

His eyes widened. "Ah."

"Look, if this is because of Martha and Mickey having a baby, you don't have to panic, yeah, 'cos I know – I know that we can't be like them, I know we can't have kids, and I'm fine with that."

"Rose," he murmured softly.

"And I'm not leaving, ever, because I love you, Doctor, and if you're worried that one day I'll leave you to have a family then – well, then you're very silly, because that isn't gonna happen."

"Silly Doctor," he smiled, echoing her earlier words. "Rose?"

Rose sighed worriedly. "Yeah?"

"When you say 'can't' do you mean that as in, you think we literally can't, in the biological sense, or 'can't' as in we can't because of the life we lead?"

Her mind boggled at his question, confused as to why he was prolonging the fruitless conversation. "I...both?"

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Well, you see, theoretically we _could. _In the biological sense."

She frowned at him. "But you said it was impossible for me to get pregnant, that first time when I asked you about whether we needed protection."

"Well, yes, it is really, unless – you see, Time Lords didn't – we – oh, I'm rubbish at explaining this sort of thing." He sat up, propping himself up against the headboard. "Okay. Before they all, you know, died and everything," he began, swallowing thickly. "For centuries, no, thousands of years, Time Lords and Ladies hadn't procreated via sexual intercourse. Instead, babies were loomed."

"I remember you telling me all this. It's why I assumed that it was completely out of the question for you to get me pregnant. So, if that's out of the question, and Gallifrey's gone, along with the looming process, then...well, logical conclusion I came to is that me and you won't have kids."

He winced. "I didn't clarify things very well. You and I were so – so _new, _then, that I suppose I didn't want to delve into the mechanics of it and scare you off. Especially as you seemed so opposed to children back then anyway."

Rose's lips twitched. "Yeah, well. When you've had as many younger cousins as me and had to babysit them..." she mock-shuddered. "Puts you off a bit."

"But Rose, if I were to ask you, right now, a very important question, would you answer it honestly? That's what I need, Rose. An honest, instant gut-reaction from you."

"Okay," she nodded. "Go ahead."

"If I said that we could have a baby, would you want one?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Doctor - "

"No, no - no questions, just answer what you inherently feel."

"But - "

"Don't think about impossibilities, don't think about me and what I want, don't think about what'll happen because of your answer; just answer from your heart. If we could make a baby together, would you want to?"

She stared at him for a long time without saying anything. "If we could make a baby together...If we _could, _and if you wanted to...then, yes."

"Get rid of the 'if you wanted to' bit – ignore me, what do _you _want?"

Rose thought for another moment. What _did _she want? Well, she wanted to stay with the Doctor for the rest of her life. He'd told her to ignore the external factors, the consequences of her answer, but she couldn't. If she answered yes, and he didn't want one too, then, well, wouldn't things be all shades of awkward. If she answered no, and he did, then, well. Same again. And she couldn't risk losing him. Couldn't risk losing all this, this life, and him.

But if he was telling her that they could have a baby and still keep travelling, still be together, then...

Well. She was definitely up for that.

She told him so. Exactly that. That, "If we could have a baby but still live in the TARDIS and still travel together and still _be _together, then yeah, I'd want one. With you. A mini-Doctor." She smiled.

"Or a mini-Rose," he smiled back.

"Yeah," she breathed out roughly, wondering at his response. Did that mean...did he mean...?

"Rose, my DNA is vastly more complex than yours. That's why we can't just spontaneously conceive like a significant proportion of humans can. But. There is a way." He watched her eyes widen almost imperceptibly. "If you want," he added.

"Even if it's possible, though," she whispered. "Do you really want one? Or are you just doing this 'cos you think I want one? I wouldn't want you to regret something as huge as this. I'd rather not risk it."

"Okay, so what if I told you that seeing you holding Chloe today filled me with such an aching longing for what Mickey and Martha have that I could barely speak, I was so overcome with emotion?"

Rose's heart rate sped up. "Seriously?" she murmured, smiling slowly. "That's how you felt? You really want this that much? Is that why you ignored me in the kitchen, when I was holding her? Because you wanted me to be holding _our _baby? One that you and me can make together? One that'll have your impossibly great brown hair and – and, well, we can only fervently hope, my nose?"

"Yes, to all of that." Then he frowned. "Hold on, what's wrong with my no - " He cut himself off as Rose tugged on it, emphasising its size and pointiness. "Alright, I concede to your point. Especially as you have such a nice nose yourself." He leant down and pressed a kiss to it tenderly. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into his side. "I love you, Rose Tyler," he whispered into the top of her head. "I probably don't say that enough. But I do love you. I'll always love you."

"I know, it's okay," she murmured against his chest. "And I love you too."

He nuzzled her hair affectionately. "Do you want to make a baby?" he asked softly. "I mean, you don't actually have to decide right this second. I'm just a little...excited, I suppose. Which is preposterous. Because I shouldn't want this, really. I should be inherently inclined _against_ such events taking place. But...oh, I – I can't help it. I see you and I think how beautiful it would be, making a baby with the woman I love, and I feel so...so unlike how I should be, how I _used _to be, and that's – I don't mind that, because I'm a better person for going against all that, for falling for you and letting you heal me. I'm a better person.

"And it might be very unlike a Time Lord to want all this, you and domesticity and a child, but – well, who's to say that we can't have all that, and keep the adventure in our life too? There's no rulebook we have to stick to. Not anymore. We'd have to be more careful, certainly, about where we go and what we do, how involved we get. Can't exactly drag a baby into the midst of an interplanetary crisis, or a pregnant-you for that matter. But we've had our years of recklessness. Maybe it is time we started to be more careful. I know you love the danger and the thrill of it and the running just as much as me, but...well, would it hurt to slow down for a while? I don't think it would. I think it would be just as scary and thrilling to embark on this adventure. And it wouldn't be neglecting the universe, not really.

"We can still keep our eye on it, plan to sensibly intervene if necessary. Plus, the universe owes us, surely, after all we've done for it. Meanwhile, our child – or, you know, children, if you wanted more than one – they'd have the most exciting upbringing ever, visiting all the wonderful – safe – places in the universe. We could show them our favourite planets. Our favourite chip shops. Take them to Disney World on Clom for their birthdays. Visit the Astrologus Playground on Xej – they have the most massive sandpit there, Rose, we'd have hours of fun. Oooh, sand – beaches! Think of the beaches we could go to! Remember that place on Fehi, where we went for your twenty-fifth? I seem to recall they had a great little shop that sold buckets and spades, there. Mind you, the memories of what we did on that beach might get a bit much, so on second thoughts we'll save Fehi for when your Mum wants to babysit...you're quiet, you alright?"

Rose looked up at him and beamed. "I'm fine. I was just...taking in everything you were saying." She cast him a knowing look. "You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

He smiled sheepishly at her. "Maybe."

"You really think we can do this? Not just the pregnancy bit but the actual parenting? You think I'm capable of...you know, maternal instinct and all that?"

"Yes, on all accounts. I think we'll stumble through it at first, like everyone does. But I think you'll be incredibly capable and resourceful and loving, and you'll help me through my panic and – and help me be a better father than I ever could've been before, without you."

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Then yeah. I want to." She paused, then giggled. "Oh my god, Mum's not gonna believe this."

The Doctor chuckled and stroked her hair gently. "What do you think she'll want to be called? Grandma? Nana?"

"God knows," Rose murmured. "Are you sure this is gonna work, then? What is it we have to do to conceive?"

"I'm pretty sure it'll work. I'll take you through all the details in the morning. Right now, my eyelids are drooping."

Rose giggled again. "I always feel so proud when you're sleepy after sex."

He dragged his lips across her forehead in a lazy kiss. "Well, you are very talented at wearing me out. Only person who can, really."

"Doctor, one more thing, before you nod off."

"Mmm?"

"Do you think Martha and Mickey will think we're copying them?"

The Doctor buried his face in her neck and laughed and laughed.

_The End._


End file.
